backing with a competitive specialty

[ophtho_gunner]

Hello all,

 

I want to go for ophtho but I also have intense desire to go into diagnostic radiology as my second choice ( I have thoroughly explored them through my observerships). How feasible is it and how should I go about doing this?

 

I will have my core/mandatory electives in 3rd yaer, I guess I cant do much here except ace ophtho and radio electives. In 4th year though, do you suggest balancing out equally for ophtho and radio all across Ontario at least if not whole Canada? I'd prefer to match to Toronto, Hamilton or London.

 

If I dont get ophtho, considering how competitive it is, I want diagnostic radiology as a second choice. But is it ok to wait one year out and apply for ophtho in next match? I just feel so lost right now. Is it even rational and sane to go for two competitive specialties? Or I am treading thin waters and preparing for utter destruction?

Regards

[Lactic Folly]

It's good to have a couple of rads electives to show interest, but it's hard to truly "ace" a radiology elective, and they don't usually make or break your application (unless you made a bad impression). As with ophtho, your application should be strong overall, with research/strong faculty reference from within the field very helpful, so if you were going to do anything I would work on those.

 

It's one thing to have a mix of electives, but having (for example) 8 weeks of one thing and 8 weeks of another (and I doubt you'll have much more elective time than that) suggests you are considering them both highly. Be prepared to explain what you truly want and why. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees whichever route you take - but the stronger you are as a candidate, the better your chances.

[NLengr]

Applying to two competitive specialties is risky. Most of your competition will be focused on just one. With split elective time, you risk not looking as interested as them and being passed over. There are however no firm numbers and a small sample size so there are no hard and fast rules as to the level of risk.

 

Taking a year off if you don't match is also a big risk. Ian Wong went to the states in a similar situation. There is a thread about it somewhere that would be good to read.

[Lactic Folly]

Agreed - if you try again in Canada, you will be competing against current year graduates who won't have the stigma of having gone unmatched previously.

 

As for risk - I once encountered someone who I suspect tried this and succeeded. But I also know multiple people who focused on one competitive specialty and didn't make it.

 

Programs want people who will be happy training there, not people who may have second thoughts and try to switch out - something I would think about in your case as well if you truly have "intense desire" to do two somewhat different specialties.. observing only takes someone so far, and there's a lot I didn't appreciate until I was actually doing it.

[ophtho_gunner]

Applying to two competitive specialties is risky. Most of your competition will be focused on just one. With split elective time, you risk not looking as interested as them and being passed over. There are however no firm numbers and a small sample size so there are no hard and fast rules as to the level of risk.

 

Taking a year off if you don't match is also a big risk. Ian Wong went to the states in a similar situation. There is a thread about it somewhere that would be good to read.

 

I understand this. But why wont the program director think that the student also needs to make sure that if he/she does not get matched, he/she has some back up plan. Why would PD want us to put all our eggs in one basket in the name of "super interested." I am sure showing interest is very important but to the detriment of application in other specialties in case of not matching to specialty of first choice does not seem fair at all.

[Lactic Folly]

PDs in competitive specialties understand that students have backup plans - but usually this will be a less competitive field. If you apply to two competitive specialties, they will not be sure that you are not using *them* as a backup.

[NLengr]

PDs in competitive specialties understand that students have backup plans - but usually this will be a less competitive field. If you apply to two competitive specialties, they will not be sure that you are not using *them* as a backup.

 

I agree with the above.

 

Really, you need to figure out what one is more preferable and really push to match to that one. If not, you may risk losing both.

[Kuantum]

If you look at the stats this year for surgical specialties, it is clear that it was a very hot year. Surgery is becoming more and more favored by medical students primarily as a result of increasing class sizes without complimentary increase in specialty positions. I have heard of a person applying for both Ophtho first and Rads second (they matched to Rads and not at their first choice school). So, it is possible but realize that applying to two specailties when one of them is surgery is difficult, never mind trying to apply to 2 competitive specialties. However, I should also mention that if you look at the Radiology stats this year, it was only minorly competitive. No where on the level of Derm, ER, Plastics, or Ophtho. Probably somewhere in the Anesthesiology range.

 

Either way, spend some time trying to figure out what you really like because those are two very different specialties with very different skill sets.

 

Good luck.